J Genomics 2015; 3:1-19. doi:10.7150/jgen.10404 This volume Cite
Review
Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
In many animals, males have one X and females have two X chromosomes. The difference in X chromosome dosage between the two sexes is compensated by mechanisms that regulate X chromosome transcription. Recent advances in genomic techniques have provided new insights into the molecular mechanisms of X chromosome dosage compensation. In this review, I summarize our current understanding of dosage imbalance in general, and then review the molecular mechanisms of X chromosome dosage compensation with an emphasis on the parallels and differences between the three well-studied model systems, M. musculus, D. melanogaster and C. elegans.
Keywords: X chromosomes, mechanisms